Lost in the Library
by VonGikkingen
Summary: After Belle disappears, not for the first time, the town is left without their supply of fiction to distract them from their problems. But no one can keep the Lost Boys from their favorite distraction...


"There's been some trouble with the boys," said mother superior. And just like that Tink had to focus on keeping her expression serious.

She couldn't help finding it funny. The way they insisted on calling them _boys_ , as though they weren't lost anymore. Except they were, and more so now that they were strangers in a strange land where everyone treated them as the children they looked like. And she didn't quite understand what was she expected to do about it.

For all they apparently had in common, she wasn't exactly friendly with them. No one was. It had to do with the fact they all had decades of experience with being juvenile delinquents...

"What kind of trouble?" asked Tinkerbell, since she might as well stop pretending she had a much of the choice here.

"They've been spending a lot of time in the library."

At that she actually laughed out loud. "And this surprises you? Oh," she realized looking at the Blue Fairy, "it does."

"Do you know why are they…?"

"They just need distraction. Neverland has some magic properties but other than that there's really very little to do if your idea of fun isn't wandering through the jungle all day…" explained Tink. "Spending time in library is very healthy if you ask me…"

"I see," said Blue, clearly relieved. "It never occurred to me."

"No. You'd have to be there to be able to appreciate just how tedious life can get…"

"Thank you for clearing that up."

Tink nodded and turned to go, careful to keep her casual expression on until she was well out of sight. Everything she told the Blue fairy was true and she really wished she could believe that pretty good justification. But that would mean they suddenly became well adjusted members of society, and last time she checked they were anything but.

And that gave her no choice but to head for the library…

"Right. What's going on here…?" she said when she opened the door. To catch them in the act, she hoped.

And looking around she most certainly did.

She caught several of the boys in the act of putting books back on the shelves, another moping the floor and two oldest doing paperwork. _Paperwork_... She gaped at them from where she stood, feeling actually paralyzed. Feeling like she ate something illegally imported from Wonderland...

"Yes? How can we help you?" asked one of them looking up from computer screen. His expression didn't change in the slightest when he saw it was her.

"You look like you're going to faint…" grinned the other. "Did someone made you watch Disney movies…?"

"Mother superior just had a talk with me. About the suspicious amount of time you're all spending in the library," said Tink, trying to keep her amazement out of her voice and failing spectacularly, "but I didn't expect this was a complete hostile takeover…"

"What are you talking about?"

"This. _You_. Electing yourselves to be junior librarians."

"Is there a question? Because I have a lot of threatening letters about overdue books to write and as nice as it is to see you again…" started the oldest of the bunch. Clearly the one in charge, which made things a little easier.

"I know you," she said, walking up to his table. "It's Wolf, right?"

"Yes. As in _the boy who cried_ … That's why no one believed me when I told them there was a disembodied shadow trying to abduct me," he said, looking up at her with the expression of someone who really didn't see what was she still doing here if she didn't come for a book.

"Why are you running the library, Wolf?" she asked.

"Have you seen Belle lately…?" he answered with a question of his own.

"No. I heard she disappeared into the Underworld and…"

"Yes. Things like that happen a lot. She disappears or is attacked by bears or shot by pirates… you know," he grinned "the usual stuff for a librarian…"

"Your point?" asked Tink, frowning.

"Even when she's here she's open barely a few hours before she has to go to check on the shop. Really weird schedule she has going on. You know if people around here didn't feel so weird about books she'd be fired long ago…"

"And you bunch are doing a better job?"

"Well… yes. We don't get distracted you see," said Wolf as if that explained everything. "We don't get attacked all the time."

"It's not really her fault though," protested one of the boys from where he was hiding behind a pile of books.

"Of course it is. You can either have a terrible taste in men or be a librarian. You can't have both," said Wolf only half joking.

Tink only sighed and looked around.

"So you're telling me this is how you want to spend your time. Working. For no pay."

"Working? Please…" said a voice of someone hidden behind a comic book.

"Some of us take it more seriously than others. Still – we're going to come here anyway, we might as well keep the place clean and ordered… and threaten people who don't return their books on time with slow and painful death," said Wolf.

"How long have you lived in Neverland?" she asked a little suspiciously. She just wasn't buying this selfless attitude from them.

"About 80 years I think. There you go – mystery solved. We're actually excited by the idea of spending most of the day in a dusty room full of books because we've been secretly geriatrics all along," said Wolf laughing at the way her expression changed after that little revelation.

"So you're here because you like it," she said, mostly just to adjust herself to that new fact.

"And to get some space between us and the nuns with magical powers. I mean… as if regular nuns weren't bad enough…" said one of the boys shaking his head.

"So what do you actually do other than use force to get your overdue books back?"

"Make sure people don't read stuff that would upset them. That's about the most important thing librarian in this town does. Belle made sure we had some context before she let us anywhere near Barrie," shrugged Wolf. And just like that Tink was almost willing to believe they were doing all this out of goodness of their hearts.

"So where do you keep the upsetting books?"

"I'm afraid that's above your clearance…" said Wolf, and several Lost boys grinned at that. She thought about telling them she already read some of Barrie's far from accurate work on Neverland, not to mention had the misfortune to see the Disney version of herself. But then again that was above their clearance.

"Anything I _can_ read…?"

Now that got their attention. Quite a few of them got to their feet and headed for the fiction section. "What?" she said when she caught Wolf's disbelieving expression. "I spent enough time in Neverland to have right to say this – the possibility of immortality is _not_ worth it. I mean the shear boredom…"

"That's why so many of us begged the mermaids to drown us and put us out of our misery. At least you didn't have to listen to all those stories about how amazing Peter Pan was," said one of the lost boys as he dropped a pile of fantasy books on the table for her.

"You know he tried to convince us you worked for him. What an arrogant little..."

Tink only shook her head at that. So it turned out she had something in common with this bunch of technically geriatric outcasts. They were all equally pleased that the former overlord of that creepy little island they found themselves on was no longer here to bore them with the stories of his adventures.

"So… Do we have a deal?" asked Wolf suddenly, startling her since she was quite a few chapters into Harry Potter and completely forgot where she was.

"A deal?" she frowned at him. "Really? You can't be both a librarian and a villain in training. Pick one."

"Already did. The deal is you let us to run this place despite our apparent age and we keep you supplied with the good stuff. We've read at least half of the speculative fiction since we landed here – you won't find better authority, not in this town. And we probably won't find anyone better qualified to pretend to be the adult supervision everyone thinks we need."

"Well that certainly sounds mutually beneficial," nodded Tink and went right back to the book. If this was their idea of good stuff she was clearly getting better deal than they did.

She was actually upset when she was informed they'll be closing up for today…

"I just figured it out. I mean I knew you're all older than you look," she said as they hustled her out of the library. "But it just now registered that you're…"

"Grownups. Yes," grinned Wolf. "You better keep that to yourself though. I'd hate to be asked to pay taxes. I heard that's the worst…"

"Remember to bring the book back once you're done with it. If you won't there will be consequences…" said one of the boys pointing at the book in her hands.

"Of course. I wouldn't want to get one of your strongly worded letters…"

"Oh, that's not the worst we can do," said Wolf after he locked to door and hid the key in his pocket. "As librarians we reserve the right to withhold the sequel from you."

"That's just evil…" said Tink shaking her head.

"Cruel and unusual punishment. Sure. But how else do you get people to respect books? And if there's one thing we should all respected…" he said, not even finishing that thought since there was no need.

"So wise for your age," she said shaking her head as she went on her way.


End file.
